Page 277 of Handsome Devil
“When he came out to see you, before you went on your little voyage of self-discovery in Australia.”
“She offered him an inheritance?”
“Yes. And he turned it down.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I suppose you’ll have to ask him.”
I looked at Lex across the room, where he stood at a high table with his buddies. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he turn down a fortune?”
“A small fortune, relatively. Your grandmother offered him ten million. The same amount of money that Laurinda was supposed to get when she had her first child. On condition that he leaves that gang of his, of course. He refused.”
“You mean, the motorcycle club?”
“If that’s what you insist on calling it. It’s a criminal organization, son. Same reason she had to cut Laurinda off all those years ago, when she insisted on running off with a Montanari. We can’t be tied financially to a criminal organization. If Lex ever wants money or recognition from your grandmother, he’ll need to cut ties with the West Coast Kings for good.”
As she spoke, Lex caught my eye. I nodded a little, and he made his way toward us. When my mother saw him coming, she set down her drink and met my eyes.
Lex came to the party for me, because I invited him. I didn’t ask my mother for permission on this, and I never would again.
“Aunt Christiana,” he greeted her neutrally. I was surprised he called her “Aunt” at all. As far as I knew, he’d never even met her in person.
“Lexington.” My mother looked him over. “Don’t you look handsome,” she said.
I looked at him. He wore a simple black leather motorcycle jacket, a sweater and black jeans. My brother had a few tattoos, but they were covered. His hair was kind of long on top, but fairly neat. He looked just like a normal guy.
Until he smiled.
My mother got a glimpse of his teeth, silver fangs included, and it definitely took her aback. Whether she’d heard about the teeth or not, clearly this was the first time she’d seen them in person.
“Thank you for looking out for my son,” she managed to force out.
“He’d do the same for me,” Lex said.
“Yes. I imagine he would.” My mother looked at me. “Excuse me. I’d like to say hello to a few people.” She nodded a goodbye at Lex and made her way over to Velma.
As soon as Lex’s eyes met mine, I backhanded him in the ribs. “What the fuck?”
“What?”
“You turned down an eight-figure inheritance?”
“Seems that way.”
“Are you fucking stupid?”
He just smiled, then took a sip of his beer.
“Because of the Kings? You can’t just step away? With ten million, you don’t even need a job. You can do whatever the fuck you want.”
He shrugged. “Can’t do it.”
“Why the hell not? It’s ten million dollars. Tostart. Plus, getting cut back into the family.”
Lex gave me that lowered-eyelid look of his. The one that said there was so much more going on in his head than he ever really let on. “The Kings saved me, brother,” he said simply. “What if they told you that you only get your inheritance if you leave Devi behind?”
Okay. Yeah, I understood what he was saying. Unfortunately, that club had been more family to him than our family ever was.
